Five members from SE-Forum traveled to Nairobi in April to learn more about entrepreneurship in post conflict situations. One of the companies that impressed them the most was Jamii Bora, also known as “the shining star of African Microfinance”.
SE Forum invited Andreas Ullsten from Nordic Micro Cap, a company who works closely with Jamii Bora, to inform us about microfinance at the monthly SE-bar on May 27th.
Nordic Micro cap is investing in Jamii Bora and other microfinance institutes in Africa. Andreas Ullsten has learned through his work that nothing  creates business ideas like poverty.
- Poor people not only dream to emerge from poverty, but also to acquire wealth, Andreas Ullsten said.

Jamii Bora was established in 1999 at the initiative of 50 street beggar families in Nairobi. They have grown to be approximately 230 000 members today. The organization offers micro business loans to all members who save money in Jamii Bora for a minimum of six weeks. The loans that Jamii Bora gives to members are never more than twice the member’s savings. The member pays 0,5 % interest rate per week on the loan they have been granted. The loan must be repaid within 50 weeks but many members choose to repay the loan earlier.

Jamii Bora is also involved in different health care projects. One of the projects offers a self-help program for members who are dealing with alcoholism. During the years it has come to Jamii Boras attention that many of their members has had at least one alcoholic in their family. This is making it very difficult for the rest of the family to save money or maintain a business. This program is a way for Jamii Bora to ensure their members are reliable.

We also listened to impressions from Eliza Kücükaslan, Åsa Botha and Harry McNeil and their ten days in Nairobi. They were surprised to see how much entrepreneurs and companies impacted the overall cooperation between people in different tribes. These peaceful relations are particulary important in post conflict regions such as Nairobi and it’s surroundings.
- Business keeps people talking is something we brought with us home, said Eliza Kücükaslan.

Master thesis by Hanna von Schantz & Celeste deCasas, Stockholm University, Sweden, Jan 2009

Do well and do good – a study of the business climate for social businesses in Sweden is the title of a newly written master thesis by Hanna von Schantz and Celeste deCasas from Stockholm University. The thesis explores the business climate through the eyes of seven social businesses by identifying the most critical factors impacting their development and success.

“Much of the focus in Sweden has previously been on social businesses related to co-operative or community based models, but we wanted to shed some light on the new generation of social entrepreneurs, those who use a business venture to generate a social or environmental impact”, says author Hanna von Schantz. The authors refer to this area as “business based social entrepreneurship”.

The participants in the study identified both inefficiencies and opportunities in the current business climate. Despite the challenges and the immature market for social entrepreneurs most of the interviewees felt optimistic about their future.

The thesis “Do well and do good” is written in Swedish, but for any questions or information in English please contact: hannavonschantz@gmail.com

Read the thesis here!

The next SE-Bar is Wednesday 27 of May in Stockholm. We will hear about SE Forum’s two projects in Kenya and meet Andreas Ullsten from Nordic Microcap, that invests in the microfinance institutions Jamii Bora.

Welcome!

Varmt välkommen till maj månads SE-Bar.
Fokus för denna SE-Bar är socialt entreprenörskap, fattigdomsbekämpning och affärsutveckling i Kenya! Vi ska få höra om erfarenheterna från SE Forum-medlemmarna som i april åkte till Nairobi för att undersöka företagens roll i post-konfliktländer och förutsättningarna för ett ledarskapsprogram för unga entreprenörer.

Ett av de kenyanska företagen som imponerade mest var mikrokreditföretaget Jamii Bora som hjälpt över hundratusen människor att gå från extrem fattigdom till självförsörjning. Vi har därför även bjudit in Andreas Ullsten som talare, en av initiativtagarna till Nordic Microcap som investerar i Jamii Bora och flera andra mikrokreditinstitutioner i Afrika. Han kommer bl a att berätta mer om hur Jamii Bora på bara några år blivit “the Shining Star of African Microfinance”.

Vi utlovar stor dos inspiration om hur man kan göra världen till en bättre plats samt nätverkande med människor som har ett stort hjärta för frågorna. Sprid gärna inbjudan till andra intresserade!

Välkomna!

We are home again after an inspiring trip to Kenya with many new experiences, insights and a better understanding of the role of entrepreneurship and business in post conflict regions.
May 27th is the next date for SE-Bar and members of the SE Forum team who travelled to Kenya will do a “halfway presentation” of the project, but in the mean time, here is a long overdue travel report from the second half of our trip.

SE Forum members (Erik Stenborg, Eliza Kücükaslan and Åse Botha) together with Muthoni Garland, author, publisher, mentor, founder and director of Story Moja – a publishing company with the vision of getting “a book into every African hand.”

At the Swedish Trade Council in Nairobi for a meeting with office manager Johan Marcus and the rest of the staff.

Thursday April 24th was a full day with micro finance institution, insurance company and bank Jamii Bora. We met inspiring examples of people who have climbed their way out of poverty with the help from  Jamii Bora. In the slums of Kibera we visited Toi Market, which has been rebuild after the complete destruction during the post election violence.

Mahesh Chandaria, owner and director of Chandaria Industries together with SE Forum’s Eliza Kücükaslan. Chandaria Industries core business is paper, mostly made from recycled pulp. The company employs 1200 people in Kenya and is the second largest company in Nairobi.

On the last day of our trip we traveled to Naivasha in the Rift Valley, about two hours outside of Nairobi for a visit to a local flower farm. Naivasha was heavily affected by the post election violence and around 30-40.000 people have lost their jobs in the flower industry because of the violence and the economic recession.

On our way back to Nairobi and our flight home we stopped at the Hells Gate National Park. Heaps of wild animals and amazing views, a very fitting way to end a trip we will remember for a very long time!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped us in various ways during this first part of the projects. The trip had never been as successful as it was without the help we received, both in Sweden and in Kenya, and we can’t stress enough how grateful we are for that.

As a part of the research for the SE Forum projects OUTREACH and “Sustainable Business Executice Education” Erik Stenborg and Harry McNeil met with Nobel Price winner Wangari Maathai, the founder of the Kenyan Green Belt Movement. SE Forum are grateful to Folke Bernadotte Academy for setting up the meeting and providing the classic photo-op.